[Van Gogh]

I’ll strongly advise you demo the u18t before you buy . It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Don’t be put off by negative views or comments from people. Try to hear it for yourself if possible before you buy .

I will try to demo it first, will probably have patience to wait for 1 month, after that I might break lol.

 

[davidmolliere]

I’ll strongly advise you demo the u18t before you buy . It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Don’t be put off by negative views or comments from people. Try to hear it for yourself if possible before you buy .

I had the chance to spend half an hour with the U18t, and I was very impressed it's very versatile with an amazing ability to handle complex ensembles. I was agreably surprised by how musical it is, it's a very coherent package and to me it sounded like a reference tuning with fun bass and nice sparkle up top. I expected something more analytical and although it provides a lot of detail I was drawn into the music not dissecting at all. Highly engaging with very strong technical foundation.

 

[szore]

Bummer... I'm glad that AK continues to make product advances, but as an SP1000 owner, I wish I had the SP1000M instead. The extra portability would be useful to me, since I use a KSE1500 with the SP1000 -- so I'm carrying quite a bulk and heavy combo. And I don't really care about screen size. The SP1000M seems like it's only a hair taller than the KSE's amp, so they should stack quite nicely together.

I also don't love the color, though, my ideal color would be SS or Onyx.

How do you like the 1500?

 

[szore]

Trade-offs. Everyone always gets so excited on here. People gonna be buying and selling, crying for joy and for sadness, hot times in the old town. Smaller, lighter, different material, smaller screen, shorter battery life, cheaper, less features, streaming features, new firmware that will probably give more streaming features to the old model, blue. Wish I hadn't bought the original, glad I bought the original, can't wait to buy the new one, don't want the new one. And a one and a two and a three, dosey doe your partner.

This place is like a drug.

Yeah, and?

 

[szore]

My take: my SP1000 didn't all of the sudden become irrelevant. It's still a TOTL DAP and the sound is still great. The SP1000m is just another smaller version albeit cheaper.

Enjoy your music.

No, the specifications are better on the 1000M...

 

[cj3209]

No, the specifications are better on the 1000M...

It's a wash if you ask me:

https://www.astellnkern.com/eng/con...scg=CG210180&spos=0&tcg=&tpos=0&gcode=SC32740

 

[aaf evo]

IMO at the end of the day, and this is all assumption here, if the M is better sounding than the SPK I’d imagine it’s very marginal. For me as of now it’s a matter of wanting a bigger screen, more internal memory, and a bigger battery. Coming from the DX200 I’m wanting as much battery life as possible.

Granted this could all change once the M reviews come out! Haha

 

[MRT-Man]

How do you like the 1500?

The KSE1500 is awesome, and pairs very well with the SP1000. To give you some idea, I spent some time recently listening to the Utopia, LCD-4 and Abyss Diana, and the KSE was at least on par, if not better, with respect to detail, separation, clarity, speed, mids and trebles (the KSE bass is fine, but not as impactful as full-size headphones. And the soundstage is obviously less, given that it's an IEM). They sound pretty well perfect to me. But you have to like a neutral sound, which I do.

 

[melloman]

If someoner owns an sp1000m could you impart which microsd card you are using, size and brand? tia

 

[DarginMahkum]

I had a different take when I had the chance to listen to SP1000Cu.
First, the UI is clearly miles ahead as well as build and finish. More premium. The DX200 being modular is more versatile and UI has made a good jump with Android 8.1 now on DX200

Now the sound, I really liked what I heard, it's very musical and more organic than the DX200, with more body overall and a warmth that I do like a lot. I also liked the richness of textures.
Soundstage was more on par with DX200/AMP8 with maybe more air for DX200 which is more neutral to my ears. Detail retrieval is fairly similar IMHO.

What I didn't care for was the SP1000 treble, at least on some lesser mastered tracks there was some harshness so maybe it's because the SP1000 is more revealing but it makes it less of an all rounder IMHO. It probably depends on what you listen to, because on well mastered stuff I could see myself going for the SP1000, or rather now the SP1000M especially since they at last make support for android APK. So I'd need to give it another shot but it's not just a matter of better vs lesser, the signature are different. Synergy with gear will come into play.

What about the DX200ti? Some say it is on par with SPK. Is it?

Oh, and the Phantom. I currently have LCDi4 but I was looking for a less fraigle companion to it. Something easier to carry around. They recommended the Zeus but it is available only as a custom. Then there is Phantom and the Legend X. I could not decide if I like the LX (I did not test it with my music but some test samples). The bass is amazingly textured and rendered but a bit overblown. Some say Phantom is the one to go. Can you say something about your pairings with any or all of these mentioned IEMs?

Just to note, EE Legend X is the most amazing fit I have ever seen on a universal. I have somewhat small and asymmetrical ears (my right ear always feels uncomfortable with most IEMs), but LX felt perfect in my both ears. Andromeda, for example, just hurts with its sharp edges. So I have few universal options.

 

[DarginMahkum]

The KSE1500 is awesome, and pairs very well with the SP1000. To give you some idea, I spent some time recently listening to the Utopia, LCD-4 and Abyss Diana, and the KSE was at least on par, if not better, with respect to detail, separation, clarity, speed, mids and trebles (the KSE bass is fine, but not as impactful as full-size headphones. And the soundstage is obviously less, given that it's an IEM). They sound pretty well perfect to me. But you have to like a neutral sound, which I do.

I had the KSE1500 before I got my LCDi4, and for me there is no DD or BA IEM or DD / planar full size headphone that can touch it. Even Utopia (for me Utopia ist anyway simply too harsh on the high registers and too much in your face experience - didn't like it). With the right tips, KSE will kick all of their b***s. But for me again the fit was a problem.

 

[davidmolliere]

What about the DX200ti? Some say it is on par with SPK. Is it?

No definite answer there, as it will depend on preferences and your criterias... if you demand the highest build quality then DX200 might not be it, althought the Ti is better finished and has better components with a 10/15% improvement on SQ, a tad more extension and better dynamics (and a very different modded AMP1, highly neutral while musical). The recent upgrade to Android Oreo is a big improvement as well. Value for money well it's a no brainer but everyone has different priorities. Modularity with different AMPs is really a big big plus IMHO.

 

[lithiumnk]

What about the DX200ti? Some say it is on par with SPK. Is it?

Oh, and the Phantom. I currently have LCDi4 but I was looking for a less fraigle companion to it. Something easier to carry around. They recommended the Zeus but it is available only as a custom. Then there is Phantom and the Legend X. I could not decide if I like the LX (I did not test it with my music but some test samples). The bass is amazingly textured and rendered but a bit overblown. Some say Phantom is the one to go. Can you say something about your pairings with any or all of these mentioned IEMs?

Just to note, EE Legend X is the most amazing fit I have ever seen on a universal. I have somewhat small and asymmetrical ears (my right ear always feels uncomfortable with most IEMs), but LX felt perfect in my both ears. Andromeda, for example, just hurts with its sharp edges. So I have few universal options.

I have never heard dx200ti. Sp1000 is one of the best DAP on planet. After the firmware update , I'll never look beyond AK.

Sp1000 drives the lcd i4 (balanced effect audio horus) with ease...
It's really comfortable. Don't underestimate its build quality. I'm using it for over a year and I often go to sleep wearing them . Not even a scratch.

I have given up with high end BA/DD iems. Yes, LCD i4 donot isolate at all but that open sound, holographic 3d soundstage with stellar dynamics, bass response , lush, bodied midrange, well extended, non sibilant,treble response is too addictive for me from a 12gm headphone.
No iem will ever match it.

I also agree with you on utopia. After extensively listening to utopia and LCD 4, I concluded that they hardly offer any solid upgrade, in some dept. a downgrade.

My next upgrade will be susvara, abyss or going to the other side i.e. 009s.

Thanks

 

[Piotr Michalak]

Some time ago some of you guys wrote that EQ in Ultima, as well as AK380, doesn't change the sound much. Let's revisit this topic.

Here's the reason why. These EQ filters are really narrow. They work like needles only on one point. I've made some measurements and post them below. Long story short, one should only use the widest Q=0.1 and even that works like a needle, only bigger.

Setting the PRO EQ is linear, only sets the sound 4-5 dB lower.



Here's me trying to EQ these bassy T8ie! I've been using ONLY Q=0.1 and still it doesn't look very coherent:



Let's try again a few times:



You may see here, that this EQ lacks some settings, for example I have no way to touch this low point at 2.5 kHz! There's just no filter for that. There's also a peak at 5 kHz and no way of touching that ;-(

Here's the best thing I could do, compared to the default settings:


As we may see, there's more mids now, and they seem more coherent, leave alone the 2.5 kHz dip ;( There's less bass now, but it's not so coherent unfortunately. Now we have a brighter, more neutral sound that sounds lighter and easier on the ear.

That's exactly how both Ultima and AK380 Equalizer works, folks! Remember to use only the widest Q=0.1!

 

[Piotr Michalak]

Also a little bonus Here's a comparison of T8ie mk2 and Shure KSE1500 with Sensaphonics custom full shells, one with bass aligned and the other kinda mid-and-highs aligned.